Global Outreach
Get Involved
- Tell us what you’re up to – already actively participating in a global outreach project that you think other Restoration folks may want to join? Great! Tell us about it by filling out this form.
- Prayer gatherings for both local and global outreach - this will be a time to both intercede on behalf of this community as well as trade ideas, insights, questions, and dreams as we establish our next, concrete steps.
- Saturday, Feburary 20 – 10:30am-12:oopm at Restoration
- Saturday, March 27 – 10:30am-12:oopm at Restoration
- Saturday, April 24 – 10:30am-12:oopm at Restoration
- Saturday, May 22 – 10:30am-12:oopm at Restoration
- Other conferences/events -
- Global day of prayer for Burma, March 14, 2010: Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit.” The Global Day of Prayer for Burma is an annual event sponsored by Christian’s Concerned for Burma. During the second week of March, and all through the year, join many all over the world who are praying for Burma.
- New Wineskins Conference April 8-11 Speakers from around the world and Anglican missionaries from many agencies will inspire and equip clergy and lay leaders, youth ministers, mission mobilizers, and potential missionaries to fulfill our Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. Over 1,000 are expected at this sixth New Wineskins for Global Mission conference, April 8 – 11, in Ridgecrest, NC. Register online at http://www.newwineskins.org/
- International Justice Mission – Global Prayer Gathering/April 9-11 Join hundreds of others to seek God together while seeking justice for victims of oppression worldwide. Event will take place at Sheraton Premiere at Tyson’s Corner (Vienna, VA) where IJM friends and staff from Asia, Africa, Latin America, North American and the UK will lead us in compelling times of worship, prayer, and fellowship. You will hear about recent casework victories for victims of violent oppression, as well as joys, challenges, and vital prayer needs from the field. IJM President and CEO Gary Haugen will lead in reflection, prayer, worship, and fellowship. Lamont Hiebert – Ten Shekel Shirt and Sara Groves will lead worship. To register for this conference online, visit www.ijm.org/gpg
- Pray for the persecuted church: http://barnabasfund.org/US/About/
- Read a book…
Mary Ann’s picks:
- Let the Nations Be Glad- John Piper ( One of the best ever written on the topic. ’Missions exists because worship does not.’)
- Eternal Word and Changing Worlds by Harvie Conn. (Excellent academic discussion of theology, mission and anthropology and their interactions. Exposes our western assumptions about missions.)
- Bruchko- Bruce Olsen (Incredible story of how God led a young man to go to a remote isolated tribe in South America.)
- Anything by Paul Heibert (Christian anthropologist) e.g. Anthropological Reflections of missiological issues
Liz Gray’s picks:
- The Urban Halo – by Craig Greenfield (Living in the slums alongside the poor in order to enable/empower communities to care for their own orphans)
- Beyond culture: Edward T Hall (not Christian but THE best book on culture differences)
- Crossing cultures by Patty Lane (another great book on culture – this one from a Christian perspective)
- Walking with the poor by Bryant L. Myers (Principles and practices of transformational development)
OTHER IDEAS? Contact Liz Gray: stepgray.usa@gmail.com with your book suggestions.
- Trips, teams and travel:
At RAC we have an extraordinary membership – people are employed in many ways with varied, and amazing opportunities to work being Christ’s envoys in extraordinary places. At RAC we want to support and pray for all our members as they engage with people around the world through their work sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly. We all want to be people who live in the Kingdom of God whilst waiting for the final fullness of the Kingdom.
However, there are occasionally specific opportunities to get alongside people in different places for short, focused projects with a small team from the church. These can be wonderful experiences for us – and we hope for our hosts as well! In the future we hope to be highlighting opportunities for members to serve on such teams.
West Virginia: A number of people from RAC are thinking about going on this trip again in the summer with The Falls Church. See the RAC blog entry from Aug 29th 2009 to read about last year’s adventures. If you would like to get involved with this trip or have questions, please contact Shireen David, the World Outreach Coordinator at TFC on (703) 574-4378 or send an email to sdavid@thefallschurch.org.
Other trips? Watch this space! Or email Liz Gray stepgray.usa@gmail.com
Global Outreach Foci
As a new church we desire from the outset to exist not merely for our own spiritual enrichment but for the sake of revealing Christ to the community and world around us.
Our global outreach vision is coming into focus and as such we are seeking the Lord’s direction as to how Restoration will extend God’s kingdom to the least of these. While we are of a particular culture and of particular resources and talents, we humbly and prayerfully hope to have an impact that is beyond our limited abilities and plans; an impact that is clearly the work of God such that He receives glory.
Restoration, like its name would suggest, desires to seek out the broken people and places of the world. As such we sense a leading to partnering with groups helping with after-care initiatives for marginalized communities caught up in a variety of exploitative situations.
Because we believe that an indigenous, Christ-centered church is crucial for the long-term nurture and growth of believers in these communities, we hope to partner with local churches when sending short-term teams or supporting projects. As the church, we are unique in that we are not a development agency or a political movement but weak, broken sinners in need of grace who are commanded by God to go and incarnate the gospel with love and truth.
